Book industry suffers 50% sales drop amid turmoil

Infographics: TBS

Book sales have dropped by around 50% over the past two months, primarily due to the recent socio-political upheaval sparked by widespread student-led protests across the country, according to the Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association.

The steep decline in sales is also attributed to several other factors, including rising inflation, reduced purchasing power, the closure of educational institutions, and recent flooding.

Despite these challenges, publishers remain cautiously optimistic about a potential recovery within the next three months, provided the country's situation stabilises.

Moin Mursalin, publisher at Protiva Prokash, told TBS, "Book sales have dropped by half since the Covid period. Then came the Russia-Ukraine war, which drove up paper prices, and sales remained relatively low." 

"The situation has worsened further this year due to political unrest, the regime change following the protests since July, and the recent floods," he said.

Regarding the current state of his book sales, Moin said, "Previously, I used to make at least Tk30,000 every month, excluding online and book fair sales, but in the last three months, it has fallen to Tk10,000." 

"Online sales, which were Tk30,000-40,000 per month, have now decreased to Tk5,000," said Mursalin, adding that 80% of the online book sales are controlled by Rokomari.com, the biggest online bookshop in the country.

Publishers believe that many people, particularly those from middle-income backgrounds, are tightening their belts to manage daily expenses amid high inflation.

As a result, books—once considered the food for the soul and a primary source of knowledge—have become a luxury for many. The rising inflation and increased prices of books have temporarily quelled the public's thirst for reading.

"Most people cannot afford to buy books right now. My sales have dropped by nearly 60% over the past four months," said Afzal Hossain, owner of Anindya Prokash.

Discussing the poor market for fiction books, he explained, "I sell short stories and novels, but the demand for these types of books has decreased. Instead, Islamic books are selling more nowadays."

A bookseller in the capital's Shahbagh told TBS, "The noticeable thing is that people who used to come by car to buy books are not seen much now. Our sales have reduced by at least 40%."

Shaymol Pal, vice president of the Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association, told TBS, "There is a lot of uncertainty in the country. The political turmoil had led to school and college closures. As a result, sales are very low. Compared to three or four months ago, there has been an average drop of 50% in the sector."

He added that if the situation stabilises, purchasing power will improve, saying, "It will take time to adjust to the current conditions. We hope things will improve in the next two to three months."

In addition to the challenges faced by booksellers, the printing of New Year's textbooks has been temporarily halted, according to sources from the association. 

This pause is due to anticipated changes in the curriculum, which have affected current printing plans.

Shyamal Pal said, "If the curriculum is updated, the demand for new books will boost sales. However, the printing process will be delayed this time because of the curriculum changes."

The association has around 26,000 members and more than 150,000 staff. Among them, 3,000 members are based in Dhaka. However, the entire sector supports around 2 million people, according to Shaymol Pal.

According to the association, the publishing sector has suffered losses exceeding Tk3,000 crore due to the coronavirus pandemic. The yearly transaction of this sector is around Tk12,000 crore.